


3 AM

by icegirl99



Category: Ghost (Sweden Band)
Genre: Angst, Cuddling & Snuggling, Established Relationship, Hurt/Comfort, Kissing, M/M, Medical, Men Crying, One Shot, Same-Sex Marriage, Short One Shot, Sick Character, Sickfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-06
Updated: 2020-06-06
Packaged: 2021-03-04 01:01:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,468
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24574978
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/icegirl99/pseuds/icegirl99
Summary: Cardi is sick, his husband takes care of him.
Relationships: Cardinal Copia/Papa Emeritus III
Comments: 5
Kudos: 21





	3 AM

**Author's Note:**

> Kinda short one shot I wrote because I'm struggling with the next chapter of He's My Kind of Rain. NOT SET IN THAT TIMELINE. This is set in the present time. I also wrote this as sort of a character exercise for Papa.

Papa Emeritus III woke up to the sound of his husband vomiting in their bathroom. Rolling over, he looked at their alarm clock. It was just after 3 AM and they had both just gone to bed two hours prior. Papa sat up and made his way through the partially opened bathroom door. 

The light was on and his poor Cardinal was kneeling on the floor in front of the toilet, heaving and crying. He was clutching his upper right side with his arm as he did so. Crying out with every heave. "Andrea?" Papa asked gently. 

"I am in severe pain, Alessandro," Copia replied weakly. His face was pale and sweaty. 

Papa went over to the metal rack beside the shower and picked up a washcloth. He wet it with cool water from the sink and gently cleaned up his husband's face. "Can you stand?" 

The Cardinal nodded but struggled to get up. Papa leaned down and wrapped an arm around him, helping his husband to his feet. Once Copia was steady, Papa filled up a glass with water and handed it to him. "Use this to rinse your mouth and then take some small sips. I am assuming that you are also nauseous." 

"Thank you, Alessandro." 

Copia set the cup down on the counter. "I will help you back to bed and then we shall sort this pain of yours out, yes?" Papa said. 

"It is bad," Copia shook his head. He held onto the counter for dear life as the severe pain in his abdomen threatened to make him heave again. It felt like his ribs were being crushed, the pain radiated into his upper back and he couldn't stand up straight. "I have never felt such pain before in my entire life." It hurt to even breathe, the pressure was horrible. "Please Alessandro, I need something for it." 

Papa looked at his Cardinal. "Let me check you, darling," he said. "If I can find the cause, I will go down to the infirmary and bring back medicine to help." He knew how much his husband hated having to go down to the hospital and he would avoid taking him there if he could. 

"Okay," Copia nodded. 

"Come back to the bed," Papa urged gently, taking the Cardinal's arm and helping him back into the bedroom. "Where is the pain? I saw you holding your side while vomiting, is that where it hurts?" 

"Yes," Copia whispered, as he tried to lay down. He immediately felt the pain intensify and cried out, sitting back up to where it was slightly more tolerable. 

"Lay down, love. It's okay." 

"No," the Cardinal cried. "I can't. It makes the pain worse." 

"I won't make you lay down," Papa assured him. He began to pile up every pillow he could find. "But I do need you to recline some, at the very least, so that I can examine you. Can you do that for me, Andrea?" Copia looked up at his Pope. The pain on the Cardinal's face was evident and he was trembling, but he nodded. "I promise that you can sit up after." 

Papa helped him down onto the pillows. It was no where near comfortable for Copia and he was gasping in pain for a few moments until he was able to get a grasp on the pain level of being in that position. His eyes watered and tears ran down his cheeks. "Show me exactly where your pain is darling," Papa said, highly concerned that his husband was in such a severe amount of pain. He was able to piece together a potential diagnosis based on the symptoms the Cardinal was displaying, but without doing an abdominal exam he wouldn't know for sure. 

Copia pointed to the top of his rib cage on his right side. It was near the middle of his chest but not close enough for Papa to be concerned that it was a heart problem. "It radiates into my upper back," he breathed.

"Any pain on your left side? Or lower on the right?" 

"No." 

Papa took a breath and gave his husband an apologetic look. "This will hurt and I am sorry, darling. I do have an idea though of what is wrong." He began by palpating each area of Copia's abdomen, avoiding the area where the Cardinal had complained of pain. 

When Papa was satisfied that nothing else was causing his husband pain, he moved his fingers over to the side of Copia's stomach in the upper right corner. He watched his husband's face as he pressed down. His Cardinal made a small whimper but otherwise didn't show any other signs of pain. "Try to take a deep breath, Andrea," Papa said. The Pope knew immediately when Copia couldn't. 

"That hurts, Alessandro," Copia cried. 

Papa removed his hands from him. "Sit up, darling," he said and helped pull his husband into a seated position. "The pain is coming from your gallbladder. I think you may have stones." He positioned himself so that he could massage the muscles in Copia's back. While he worked the tightness out, he continued talking. "I'm going to go downstairs in a few minutes. You need IV fluids, morphine and gravol. You should also have an ultrasound, but that can wait until the pain is under control. I'm going to need to check your temperature before I go. If it is high you will have to come with me because you'll need to be admitted for antibiotics and surgery." 

"Surgery?" Copia whispered with a groan. The massage was helping with the pain and he wished his husband didn't need to stop. 

"If it's infected, it will have to be removed. But the surgery isn't that bad and I will be here with you to help you before and after." Papa got up to go and get the thermometer. "Now, you know how I prefer to take your temperature, but I won't make you lay down again until you are medicated. Open your mouth, darling." Copia did as he asked and Papa placed the thermometer underneath his tongue. 

When the thermometer beeped, Papa checked it. The Cardinal's temperature was normal. "You are not feverish, Andrea," he said. "That is a good sign, but I will need to check it again in a few hours." 

"Why do I have chills then?" Copia asked quietly. 

"Severe pain can cause that, unfortunately," Papa replied. "I'm going to go down to the infirmary and get what I need to treat you with. I'll be right back." He got up and kissed his Cardinal lightly. "Try and relax while I'm gone. I know it hurts. I won't be long, I promise." 

Papa hurried out of his living quarters and through the empty church to the infirmary. He found it rather empty as well. Just a couple of people were in the waiting room and the exam rooms were fairly quiet. "Good morning, Papa Emeritus," the nurse at triage greeted him. "A little early for you to be here, isn't it?" 

"It's not for good reasons, I'm afraid, Sister," he said. "Would you kindly open up the supply room for me? My darling Andrea is having a gallbladder attack and I need access to the morphine." 

She got up from the desk and Papa followed her through the emergency room. "Has he ever had one before?" she asked as she unlocked the door that held the IV infusion opioids. 

"I don't believe so," Papa replied. 

"Do you want me to book an abdominal ultrasound for him?" 

"You can do that, yes." Papa collected an IV kit, saline, morphine, and gravol, along with any other items he might need. 

"Tomorrow?" 

"Give him one more day," Papa said. "Andrea has anxiety and I want him to be feeling a little better. If he worsens I will bring him down here for immediate testing. But he has no fever so I can treat him in our private quarters." The nurse nodded and Papa placed all his supplies in a bag to bring back upstairs. "Thank you, Sister."

"No problem, Papa. I hope your husband feels better soon." He smiled at her and left the infirmary. 

When Papa returned to his living quarters, he found his husband dry heaving and crying in the bathroom. "I am back, Andrea," he said, as he began to gently rub Copia's back. 

"I can't…" the Cardinal gasped. "I can't stop the nausea…Alessandro…" He began to sob uncontrollably. Copia stood up and his husband pulled him into a gentle hug. 

Papa kissed his cheek. "Are you okay to go back to the bed, my love? I will start your IV and get you feeling better quickly." 

Copia nodded and Papa helped back to the bed. Once his husband was resting as comfortable as possible, Papa took everything out of his bag and began to set up the IV. He hung the bag on one of the curtain hooks on their four-poster bed and attached the morphine, gravol, and tubing. "Can I have your left arm, darling?" 

Copia held his arm out to Papa so that he could feel around for a good vein. Once he found one, he tied the tourniquet around the Cardinal's upper arm. Papa cleaned the area with the alcohol wipe and picked up the catheter and needle with the other. "I'm sorry if this hurts you, Andrea. I will be as gentle and as quick as possible." 

"It's okay, Alessandro," Copia assured him. Papa nodded and popped the cap off the catheter, keeping it parallel with his husband's arm, he used gentle but firm pressure to push it into the vein. 

The Cardinal hissed but held his arm still. "I'm sorry, my love," Papa said sadly. Once he was sure he was in the vein far enough, he removed the catheter and taped the needle in place. Papa then took the tourniquet off Copia's arm and attached the tubing to the IV. Finally, he secured it with more medical tape. "It is done," Papa said as he double-checked the fluid was at a proper drip. "You should start to feel better soon, Andrea. It's also going to make you sleepy." 

Papa moved to the other side of the bed and sat down. He quickly programmed the alarm clock to wake him up when Copia's fluids would be finished. He laid down next to his husband and pulled him into his arms. "You'll be okay," Papa whispered soothingly, kissing his forehead. 

"I can already feel it working, Alessandro," Copia whispered as a sense of calm and euphoria came over him. His pain slowly diminished and he was able to lay comfortably in his Pope's arms. 

"Good," Papa replied. "Is it the nausea or the pain that is better?"

"Both."

"I am glad." Papa reached up and cupped Copia's cheek, turning his head so that they could kiss. 

"I love you, Alessandro," Copia muttered. "Thank you." He kissed Papa again. 

"I love you, too. Do you think you can sleep now?" The Pope yawned. 

"I will try," Copia whispered. "I am pain-free for the moment but it is awkward for me to sleep with a needle in my arm." 

"I understand," Papa said. "I am here with you though and I will cuddle you regardless of whether or not we sleep." He sighed quietly as his husband buried his face in his chest. He began to lightly pet over the Cardinal's hair. 

Papa wasn't surprised when he noticed Copia's breathing level out and his body relax into his a few minutes later. He knew then that his husband was comfortable and pain free. He finally allowed himself to fall back asleep. 

~*~

The alarm went off and Papa heard Copia groan. "Andrea, you don't have to get up, but I do need you to move so I can." The Cardinal obliged, rolling onto his back. "How are you feeling?" Papa got up. 

"I think my pain is starting to return," Copia muttered. "I have pressure again. It doesn't hurt but it's not comfortable." 

"Are you nauseous?" the Pope asked. Copia shook his head. Papa switched out the morphine and fluids for fresh bags. "I'm going to keep you on the morphine and fluids for now. I didn't give you another gravol, but I have one should you need it. After this one runs out though, I will switch you to a less potent pill and see how you do. If the pain is not completely gone in 24 hours, I am going to need to take you to the infirmary for tests." 

"I don't want to go, but I will if I have to," Copia said. 

"I know," Papa replied. He picked up the thermometer. "I'd like to get a better reading, Andrea, if you don't mind." Copia sighed and turned onto his side. "Do you need help with your pants, darling?" 

"Please," Copia said. 

Papa helped him pull them down to the top of his thighs. "This is quick, darling." Papa gently inserted the thermometer and waited for it to get a reading. Again, it was normal. "You are still okay, Andrea," Papa said as he helped his husband put his pants back on. 

"I thought so," the Cardinal replied. "My chills are gone." 

"That's because your pain is under control," Papa said. He reset the alarm clock. "We may sleep again, my love." 

Copia rolled over into his Pope's embrace and pressed a kiss to his neck. "Do I have to take the pills when we wake back up?" 

"No," Papa said. "It is only if you are still hurting." 

"Okay, Alessandro." The Cardinal wrapped his arm around Papa's waist and clung to him until they both fell asleep once more. 

His husband was harder to rouse the third time but the good news was that he didn't put up a fight when Papa removed the IV from his arm. "Do you want pills, darling?"

"No I am okay now, Papa," Copia replied. 

The Pope put everything away before joining the Cardinal in bed once more. "The ultrasound should be done soon," Papa said. "I asked the nurse to book one for you in the next day or two. You should eat foods that aren't going to make you sick for a few days. Your stomach will hurt from vomiting and I don't want you to get sick again."

"Okay, Alessandro." Copia smiled at his husband. "Thank you for taking care of me here."

Papa smiled back and kissed him. "I wanted to keep your anxiety away and I know this is the best way to do that...but let's get some more sleep now, yes?"

"Yes," Copia agreed. He cuddled up with his husband, finally able to sleep without the discomfort or pain from the gallbladder attack.


End file.
